Mikie Rowe Moore

Timeline
• 1968 — Begins karate after seeing Bruce Lee as Kato; first teacher is Nancy Miller, the first woman promoted to 1st-degree black belt in Kajukenbo-Kenpo by Charles Gaylord.
• 1969 — Opens a Kenpo karate school in Orinda, California with her husband (also a black belt).
• 1972 — Opens a women’s figure salon & karate school in El Sobrante, CA (about 25 miles from Orinda).
• 1973
o Earns 1st-degree black belt at the Northern California Referees’ Association banquet; Grandmaster Gaylord famously removes his own belt and promotes her with it so no one would question her rank.
o Hosts a local exercise TV show on San Pablo’s Channel 6 (1973–1975), blending fitness and self-defense.
o Ranked among the Top 10 women fighters in America (Professional Karate Magazine).
• 1973–1975 — Rapid run of major results (see “Selected competitive highlights” below).
• 1975–1976 — Performs before massive crowds at Richmond’s July 4th celebrations (20,000 in attendance in 1975; invited back in 1976).
• 1976–1977 — Women’s team takes 2nd (1976) then 1st (1977) at Ed Parker’s Internationals; in 1977 she wins Lightweight Black Belt Women and bows out to her heavyweight teammate for the new women’s Grand Champion title.
• 1977 — Retires from active competition while still ranked (also in Black Belt Yearbook ’75).
• 1970s–1980s — Serves as a martial arts advisor on Bay-Area film sets; speaks on national talk shows about “Common Sense Self-Defense.”
• Only female member of the Northern California Karate Referees Association for a period; works as judge (men’s & women’s divisions), arbitrator, and newsletter editor.
• 2014→ — Member of AKANA; continues teaching and giving seminars into her 80s.
• 2017 — Profiled by USAdojo; listed in Who’s Who in the Martial Arts – Legend Edition (Vol. 3).
• 2019 — Credited as associate producer for the short film When Two Masters Meet.
• 2022 — Social posts note a Hall of Fame induction and celebrate her ongoing contributions (illustrative of her continuing recognition).
Selected competitive highlights (early–mid ’70s)
• All-Western Championships — 1st place ’72, ’73, ’74.
• Four Seasons Nationals — Winner ’73.
• Western Pro/Am — Winner ’74.
• Cystic Fibrosis Championships — Winner ’75.
• Ed Parker’s Long Beach Internationals — Placed ’73 & ’74; 1st in ’76 & ’77; women’s teams under her coaching also captured top placements.
Barrier-breaking & advocacy
• Helped establish women’s divisions in California tournaments—famously telling promoter Al Reyes, Sr. she’d cover trophy costs if no women entered; from the very next month, women’s divisions were on the map statewide.
• Pushed for better kids’ divisions and officiated men’s as well as women’s brackets, unusual for the era.